The present disclosure generally relates to firearms, and more particularly to bolt handle assemblies for bolt action rifles.
Bolt action rifles generally include a barrel, a receiver onto which the barrel is mounted, and a bolt assembly including a cylindrical breech bolt that is axially movable in a receiver for opening and closing the breech. The bolt includes locking lugs at the front end which may be rotated into a locked position at the rear of the barrel. The bolt may be manually rotated between the locked and unlocked positions while in the closed breech position and also moved axially forward or rearward via a handle that protrudes approximately laterally outwards from the bolt for grasping by the user.
Many surplus military bolt action rifles are popular with civilian shooters and hunters because of their reliability and power. One of these firearms is the Mosin-Nagant rifle. This rifle was designed with open sights and a straight bolt handle that rotates to a vertical position when open. This design prohibits mounting a telescopic sight on the top of the rifle which limits the rifle's usefulness for long range hunting and shooting. Military sniper versions of the Mosin-Nagant have a modified bolt handle that allows a scope to be attached. Custom versions of the bolt handle are also available commercially. However, these modified bolt handles are generally welded onto the original bolt body in place of the original handle. This procedure requires a high level of skill to be done satisfactorily. A need therefore exists for a method to install a modified bolt handle that requires less specialized skill and equipment.
The present invention provides such a method of attachment of a new bolt handle to the bolt body of a bolt action rifle. This method requires only cutting and drilling. Unlike other existing methods, no welding is required. The new handle is designed to allow a low profile scope mount to be installed on the top of the rifle, which is not possible with the original straight bolt handle. The preferred embodiment is for a Mosin-Nagant rifle but could be applied to other rifles that have an action of similar configuration.